Happy Birthday
by SkyGem
Summary: It's October 14th after her grandfather's death and Maria doesn't know how to cope with her loneliness. Will a heart-to-heart talk with her father help her learn to deal with the loss? Birthday fic for Tsuna. Same universe as "I'm Home." Somewhat fluffy.


Summary: It's the first fourteenth of October since her grandfather's death and Maria doesn't know how to deal with this loneliness that threatens to tear her apart. Will a hear-to-heart talk with her father help her learn to deal with the loss? B-day fic for Tsuna. Same universe as "I'm Home."

SkyGem: Well, I was wondering how to write an interesting b-day fic for everyone's favorite little Tuna fish, and this was the first idea that came to me. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR.

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><p>It was almost noon on October 14th, and little Maria was still in bed.<p>

Now, why wasn't she in school, like other good little boys and girls her age? Because her today was her grandfather's birthday…her grandfather who had died only four months ago.

Ever since she was young, Maria had been so close to her grandfather, and when he had died, he had left a huge hole in her life.

Curled up into a tight little ball on her bed, Maria thought of all the good times she'd had with her grandfather and felt tears run down her cheeks and dampen her pillow more so than it already was.

Suddenly, there was a knock on her bedroom door, and Maria looked up in confusion. Who could it be? The servants all knew to leave her alone, her mother was out with her friends, and her father was at a meeting.

"…Come in," she said after a slight hesitation, her voice hoarse from crying.

When the door open, the ten-year-old was surprised at who she saw standing there.

"D-dad!" she stuttered out, sitting up quickly. "W-what are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting!"

The girl's dad, a man in his late thirties by the name of Masaharu, frowned a little at the state his daughter was in.

Letting out a sigh, he walked up to her and took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Dad?" said Maria quietly.

Masaharu reached towards his daughter, as if he was going to cup her cheek, or put his hand on her shoulder, but stopped halfway, as if thinking better of it, and let his hand drop to his lap.

Taking a deep breath, the man said, "Maria, I know you're sad about your grandfather, believe me, I understand, and I'm not going to tell you not to feel that way, either. Your grandfather…he was a wonderful man, and there are a lot of people that will miss him. He wasn't only one of the most powerful mafia bosses of all time, but he was also one of the kindest. He was a great many things to many different people; he was an employer, an idol, a friend, a big and little brother, a family member, a student, a teacher…" Pausing, he passed a hand over his face, and for the first time, Maria noticed how tired he looked; as if all the energy had been drained out of him. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, there are others who understand how you feel, so if you ever need someone to talk to, or if you need a shoulder to cry on, don't hesitate to come to me, or your mother. You don't need to go through this alone, Maria."

Maria was absolutely appalled.

All this time, she had been moping around and feeling sorry for herself, not even realizing that she probably wasn't the one suffering the most. Her father had lost his father, and she knew that it must have caused him a great deal of pain. And yet, he got up every day, he went to work every day, he continued his life as if nothing was wrong when, inside, he was broken into a million pieces that would take a lifetime to fix.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a small chuckle.

Looking at her father questioningly, she cocked an eyebrow, as if to ask what was so funny.

"Father and his guardians were unnaturally close," he said, and Maria nodded; everyone knew how close the Vongola Decimo's family was. They were like one soul split into eight bodies.

"And?" asked the girl questioningly.

"**And**, this year, he's going to be spending his birthday with them for the first time in decades. They're probably celebrating like crazy right now. Now wouldn't it be odd for you to be the only one that's upset today? A birthday is a day to celebrate someone's birth, not to mourn their death!"

Maria felt a small smile grow on her face when she heard this, an image in her head of her grandfather as a teenager, celebrating his birthday with the people closest to him in the world; his beloved guardians.

And hadn't her grandfather told her before how he had talked to his late great-great-great grandfather many times in his dreams? If she did her very best to become Vongola the Twelfth, maybe the day she saw her grandfather again wouldn't be so long in coming after all.

Throwing her arms around her father's neck, she hugged him tightly, saying, "Thank you for cheering me up, papa."

"No problem, pumpkin," he said with a smile.

Looking upwards with the smile still stretched across her face, Maria whispered, "Happy birthday, grandpa."

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><p><em>A certain brunette smiled contentedly as he looked down at his granddaughter. "Thank you for the wishes, Maria. Your smile is the best present I could receive."<em>

"_Hahaha! See? We told you she'd be alright, Tsuna!"_

"_Oi! Don't be so casual with Juudaime, yakyu baka!"_

"_Maria is strong to the Extreme!"_

"_Kufufu, she reminds me a lot of my beautiful Chrome."_

"_M-Mukuro-sama…" *Blush*_

"_Bwahahaha! Lambo-sama's awesomeness must have rubbed off on her!"_

"_Quiet, you loud herbivores. Before I bite you to death."_

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><p>SkyGem: So, what did you think? Did you like it? Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!<p>

P.S. Sorry it's taking so long, but next chapter of RaF will be updated tomorrow. Possibly BH and TItP too.


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